(g)Host City - Virtual festival at Edinburgh Fringe

Behind the scenes at spoken word audio tour project

It’s day one of the Fringe. I’m walking up the steps of the Library but I’m not going to take anything out, i’m going to put something in. My palms are tingling and my hands are shaking a little as I clutch the bag containing my precious quarry. Looking over my shoulders, casually, surreptitiously, I check no one is watching me as I head for the scene of the crime. I’ve cased the joint already, so I know which corners are hidden from cameras and the watchful eyes of the assistant librarians. Among the bookshelves are three secret spots where I will hide my treasure.

This is the second in a series of performances I have created for (g)Host City: Edinburgh’s Virtual festival. I’ve created five works of audio, sculptural and walking performance which are chapters in a forthcoming four week long show Quantum Physical. My performances encourage the audience to walk in the footsteps of one of the characters, searching for a missing woman. I hope that the audience experiences some of the things that the characters experience and make the same discoveries. The library section is a treasure hunt and hopefully gives the audience the sense that a part of their lives has been sneaked in there amongst the shelves. In the library I am not shoplifting, I am shop-putting. The danger is part of the experience of the performance and soon after I’ve hidden these treasures, the audience will come after me and walk the path I am walking. I hope that these three hidden boxes remain secret and continue to be discovered by (g)Host City listeners and that their journey takes them out of the city streets and all the way to the sea.